Division I Cross Country Women’s Scholar Athlete of the Year and Individual All-Academic Awards Announced

NEW ORLEANS – For the second consecutive season, Abbey D’Agostino of Dartmouth has been named the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division I Women’s Scholar Athlete of the Year for the 2013 cross country season among 129 who earned USTFCCCA All-Academic honors.

D’Agostino, the individual champion at the 2013 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships, earned Scholar Athlete of the Year status as the best individual finisher at the NCAA Championships who earned a cumulative grade point average of 3.25.

The senior psychology major from Topsfield, Mass., with a 3.70 GPA capped an undefeated season with a national title at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute, Ind. She ran the 6K course in 20:00.27 to become the first Ivy League student-athlete to win an individual national cross country title.

Each of her five races prior to the NCAA Championships ended with wins for D’Agostino, including titles at the Northeast Regional, the Ivy League Championships and the Wisconsin adidas Invitational.

She is the third Division I woman since the beginning of the award in 2006 to earn it in back-to-back seasons.

D’Agostino was one of 129 women in Division I who earned USTFCCCA All-Academic honors for the 2013 cross country season. Honorees must have compiled a cumulative GPA or 3.25 or greater and must have finished as an All-American or among the 15 finishers (or 10 percent) in their regional meet.

Those 129 women hail from 78 different institutions and 21 different conferences. National champion Providence and Colorado were the best represented programs with five individuals apiece, followed by eight different schools with four honorees each. Those eight schools are Butler, Virginia, Georgetown, Arkansas, Minnesota, Penn State, Florida State and Dartmouth.

The ACC led the way with 18 total honorees, followed by the Big East with 16 and the Pac-12 and SEC with 15 each.

Sixteen student-athletes reported 4.0 cumulative GPAs.

Of the 45 All-Americans, 29 earned All-Academic honors; as did 15 of the top 25 finishers.